A Japanese TV station has cancelled an appearance by BTS, after it emerged that a member of the K-Pop group once wore a t-shirt depicting the US atomic bombing of Japan.

Ahead of their scheduled appearance on TV Asahi, a photo emerged online that showed Jimin wearing a T-shirt depicting the devastating attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 which claimed thousands of lives.

The shirt was branded “insulting” by some fans, while others claimed that the inclusion of Korean flags on the garment celebrates the bomb’s role in sparking the eventual independence of the Korean peninsula from Japanese rule.

“A t-shirt design worn by one of the members caused controversy… we had been discussing it with the record label. However, we decided to postpone their appearance this time”, confirmed TV Asahi in a statement.

The t-shirt, which is still being sold online, also bears the slogan “Patriotism Our History Liberate Korea”.

Although it is unclear when Jimin first wore the t-shirt, images began to initially circulate in October.

One fan responded on Twitter: “I can never accept the act that #BTS member wore the atomic bomb T-shirts humanely. The problem is not the relation between Japan and Korea. It’s just humanity.”

I can never accept the act that #BTS member wore the atomic bomb T-shirts humanely. The problem is not the relation between Japan and Korea. It's just humanity. pic.twitter.com/x37nZs8pJG

— 髙橋裕司 (Yuji T) (@YuJett) November 9, 2018

The shirt thing made it to western media. Yikes i don’t know the history of the two countries but Jimin should’ve never worn that in first place. It will be interesting how BH handles this.

“Forget your past, forgive yourself and begin again. Don’t feel so bad. i want to see your smile again.I’m always be with you from Army”.

it was all speculation up until now but damn it's pretty serious. i hope jimin doesn't beat himself up too much over this – i doubt he knew what the shirt really meant.

japan and korea have been getting pretty tense recently so i suppose it's not entirely bec of this https://t.co/V82kdgZH4j

— dorothy (@ayecandice) November 9, 2018

Sooooo… I haven’t really seen any other ARMYs tweeting about this but… the whole Jimin shirt scandal. The show cancelled in Japan because of it? Are they gonna be okay? They’ll pull through just fine, right? I wonder how poor Jimin is dealing…???????????? @BTS_twt @BigHitEnt